DOST deploys team to global testbeds to boost PH innovation

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will send a team of experts abroad to test and improve Filipino inventions so they can compete better and be ready for the market.

“In the coming weeks, we are deploying a focused delegation of our finest scientists and experts from leading Philippine universities to engage directly with global testbeds and innovation ecosystems,” DOST Assistant Secretary Napoleon Juanillo Jr. said Tuesday.

Juanillo made the statement during the launch of the Propel Business Hub and Exhibit Center in Taguig City.

The delegation will include five experts, along with representatives from DOST and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The agency is also considering including representatives from high-impact sectors.

These sectors include semiconductors and electronics, agriculture and agri-technologies, climate change and resilience technologies, renewable energy and circular economy, electric vehicles and next-generation aviation, and biopharma and health technologies.

DOST is currently identifying countries where delegates can participate in discussions and visit testbeds, noting that geopolitics plays a role in science.

“Science actually involves geopolitics,” Juanillo said. “There you can see that testing involves politics, economics, protectionism, and that it is complicated.”

Under the Philippine Technology Evaluation and Standards Testing (PHITEST) program, DOST works with CHED and several universities to run a nationwide system that tests and certifies technologies to improve their readiness for commercialization.

The program aims to assess Filipino innovations, help refine them, and determine which ones are ready for the market, giving investors a clearer idea of which technologies to support.—MCG, GMA News